Signs of Internet Addiction

Signs of Internet Addiction

In the last 25 years or so, the world has changed drastically,  In terms of customs, traditions, but most importantly regarding technology.

What has evolved from the brick size phones and the box-shaped TVs, has transformed the last generation into screen addicts, where 59% of

teens admit to being addicted. (Joyce) Some of the signs that prove this fact is lack of social skills, loss of sleep, and finally bad school

performance.

First, one of the most menacing effects of Internet Addiction is the damaging lack of social skills, like empathizing, having face-to-face

conversations, “breaking the ice”, and even focusing on simple things such as watching a movie without missing/checking their phone, 77%

of teenagers get distracted by their phone, or do not pay attention to details. What Internet addiction does is create a sort of a “bubble“

that isolates the user from the outside, by making it only think about what is shown on the screen. If asked a question the addict will struggle

in answering because their attention is towards their activities on the internet. They become introverts and socially unskilled, so they

cannot start small talking or stand out of the crowd and this will affect their future majorly. (Joyce)

Then, another thing that indicates that you are internet addicted is the loss of sleep. Not sleeping at night, 55% of teenagers use their phone

for texting, watching videos, and spend hours and hours on it every day instead of resting, it affects the quality of sleep and how attentive they

are during the day, and regaining energy. Nearly 85 percent of teenagers sleep with their phones on or near their beds. (Mazzola) Usually, the

best way to stop this is by putting the phone away 30 minutes before going to bed and leaving the phone 4 meters away from the bed.

The third sign is students having bad grades at school. Many, including me, do their homework while watching TV, listening to music and this

all causes multitasking. This does not only happen at home, but students also get distracted in class while the teacher is explaining. This leads

to bad grades and not being aware of upcoming events such as tests, exams, assignment, etc…

These signs may help in preventing Internet Addiction in the future. Also, we need to understand its negative aspects and try to reduce

it in future generations. Many parents may be new to this and need help in controlling the amount of time their children spend in front of a

screen. But remember, technology is the key to everything these days.

Work Cited:

1} Joyce, Amy. “Teens say they’re addicted to technology. Here’s how parents can help.”. washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. 3 May

2016. Web. Feb. 28, 2018.

2} Lenhart, Amanda. “Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015”. pewinternet.org. Pew Research Center. Apr. 9, 2015. Web. Feb.

28, 2018.

3} Mazzola, Jessica. “Nighttime texting linked to bad grades, NJ study finds”.nj.com. NJ.com. Oct. 8, 2015. Web. Feb. 28, 2018.